Don?t be surprised when the salesman in your mobile shop offers you a collection of Himesh Reshammiya the next time. Pre-loaded memory cards for mobile phones are ready to roll out in stores in a couple of months.
Kingston Technology, the leader in memory products, is planning to launch content-based memory products by tying up with The Mobile Store, the chain of telecom outlets from the Essar Group.
Though Kingston officials revealed that the company is still studying the needs of customers, the company is learnt to have plans to launch memory cards filled with contents like songs, films, lecturers, speeches and even case studies for lawyers.
However, the much-sought-after product will be the song collections. Rajiv Agarwal, CEO & director, The Mobile Store, told FE, ?We will start selling these memory cards in a couple of months. There is immense potential for business of content filled memory cards.?
Nitin Malhotra, country manager-India, Kingston, told FE, ?We are exploring various possibilities of increasing memory products and pre-loaded cards are one among them. We are yet to decide what should be the contents in the cards.? The market for the mobile memory cards in India is pegged around Rs 1,500 crore.
Meanwhile, the CDs and cassettes industry is a little concerned over the popularity of memory cards. Gavin D?Abreo, chief marketing officer, Saregama, agrees that there is a slowdown in the growth rate in the CDs and cassettes business. He remains happy with theincreasing consumption of music.
?Through different mediums, consumers can spend more time for hearing music, and have a number of options now. This change gives hope for the industry,? he asserted. The CDs and cassettes industry in India is growing by 5%.